5 Ways To Bring More Activity Into Your Daily Routine
Being someone who works anywhere from 10-13 hour days, I get it when people say "I don't have time to work out." If you're anything like me (*ahem* a workaholic), fitting in a one-hour workout feels like a waste of precious, valuable time. Ok Christine, get real. Everyone has time to go to the gym. It just takes waking up a little earlier. Right, good point. But let me tell you something. If I wake up earlier, it's just to get an early start on my work. I love my sleep and there is a line of early morning waking up that I refuse to cross. In full disclosure, I am joining a gym this week and forcing myself to take at least a half hour a few days per week to get a workout in but it doesn't hurt to incorporate new ways of bringing activity into your daily life. So to get us both started, I put together five tips that are a great start as well as a few links toward the end for quick, no equipment workouts you can do anywhere.
1. Download Hulu on your phone and take it to the gym to catch up on TV instead of sitting on your couch. Yes, I just called out probably 75% of the population including myself. If you sit at home for at least one show after work every night catching up, you have time to get your booty to the gym and watch it while you're on the treadmill or eliptical. This is called killing two birds with one stone instead of simply being lazy.
2. Walk, don't drive. This is more for people in urban areas but if you have the ability to walk or use public transportation instead of drive, do it. First of all, you will save money on gas and second of all, you won't have to deal with traffic or fight for a parking spot. Hoofing it automatically burns more calories and gets you more exercise than sitting in traffic for 30 minutes.
3. Take ten minutes out of your lunch break to go for a walk. We all have them. Companies are legally bound to offer employees lunch breaks. Most of us don't take a full half hour to eat our lunch. For those of you lucky enough to have a full hour break, it definitely doesn't take that long. Instead of browsing the internet for that extra time, get outside and go for a walk. Take your lunch outside too. Eating in front of screens is not good for you and leaves you feeling less satisfied. This also hits the reset button in your brain leaving you feeling refreshed and ready to take on the second half of the day.
4. Have a daily dance party. Dancing burns a lot of calories. Play music in the morning while you're getting ready and dance along until you leave for work. Play it when you come home and dance around the kitchen while dinner is cooking. I don't mean bobbing from foot to foot though. I mean full on jumping around, banging your head, letting loose dancing. It's great for stress relief too.
5. The rule of three. I think I heard this from Dr. Oz on a talk show once. If you are going three floors or less, take the stairs and skip the elevator. Give your backside a great workout. Considering there are a lot of three-floor walk-ups in cities, you probably are already used to doing three flights of stairs but it doesn't hurt to do them more often than you do already.
And finally, here are a few links for quick workouts that don't take any extra equipment other than your body weight and that you can do anywhere:
9 Quick Total-Body Workouts, No Equipment Needed - Buzzfeed
50 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere - Greatist
A Workout You Can Do Anywhere - Real Simple
25 Effective Exercises You Can Do Anywhere - List25
10 Do-Anywhere Exercises to Burn 200 Calories in Under 3 Minutes - PopSugar
Get Fit In Only 15 Minutes - Women's Health
The point is, if you see an opportunity to get up and get moving, take it. Too many of us sit at our desks for hours at a time. If you work at home, take 20-minutes to do a mini yoga or pilates workout. When I manage to make that happen, I find myself much more motivated and productive with my work. If you feel too tired, just go for a walk around the block after dinner. If you're still exhausted 3/4 of the way through, go home. If you feel you can go a little longer, walk up the street and see if there's anything fun going on. Just get yourself up instead of sitting in front of the TV at home after sitting at a desk all day long. Our bodies were made to move, so let's get our booties up and do just that.
